Office of the Historian

285. Memorandum of a Conversation, Paris, December 19, 1957, 4 p.m.1

USDel/MC/35
Paris, December 19, 1957, 4 p.m.

PARTICIPANTS

  • United States
    • The Secretary
    • Mr. Rockwell
  • Turkey
    • Prime Minister Adnan Menderes of Turkey
    • Mr. Fatin Zorlu, Foreign Minister of Turkey
    • Mr. Melih Esenbel, Secretary General of the Foreign Office

SUBJECT

  • Baghdad Pact

The Prime Minister said that we must not accept a fait accompli in Syria. The US should once more study the possibility of full membership in the Baghdad Pact.

The Secretary said that we wanted to do everything that we could to strengthen the Pact, but that we did not see how we could join the Pact without at the same time becoming involved in a security guarantee for Israel, which would have very serious repercussions in the Arab states. The influence of the friends of Israel in Congress, together with [Page 675] that of those people who opposed treaties anyhow, could block in Congress our formal adherence to the Baghdad Pact if this was not accompanied by a security arrangement with Israel. The Secretary thought that on balance we would lose by this. Through our membership in the Military Committee, and the American Doctrine, we were on the side of the Pact members. We had the authority to fight with them, and would do so if they were attacked. There might be some prestige value in joining the Pact, but the price was too high, he thought. However, if Turkey could get the Israeli Government to agree not to press for a security arrangement with the US if the US joined the Pact, then we would take a new look at the problem. Mr. Menderes said that Turkey was going to do this.

The Secretary commented that we should get more Arab countries to join the Pact. Mr. Menderes replied that if the US joined, Lebanon and Jordan and Saudi Arabia would do so also. The Secretary doubted that Saudi Arabia would join, although he noted the great progress recently made in King Saud’s thinking about Communism. He thought the US could take substantial credit for this. If Saud would enter the Pact and no Israeli guarantee were required, the situation as far as US adherence was concerned would be very different.

Mr. Menderes said he hoped the Secretary would attend the Pact meeting in Ankara in January.2

  1. Source: Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 63 D 123, CF 947. Secret. Drafted by Rockwell. The meeting took place at the Turkish NATO Delegation.↩
  2. Secretary Dulles attended the meeting of the Baghdad Pact in Ankara, January 26–30, 1958.↩